Just That Much of a Coincidence

"..."

Sasuke Uchiha was rendered utterly speechless as he watched the Watermelon Jonin—who had burst in, discovered Kakashi was still alive, proceeded to cry and laugh in a manic frenzy, announced he would run 200 laps around Konoha to celebrate, and then abruptly sprinted away.

"Are all the jonin in Konoha this unhinged?" A voice suddenly sounded from nearby, startling Sasuke. He turned his head to see that it was none other than Wu Yu.

Wu Yu chuckled, "--by, Sasuke Uchiha."

I am truly sorry, my colleagues, that Gai and I have ruined your reputations... thought Kakashi Hatake silently as he lay on the bed with his eyes closed. Sakura Haruno dampened a towel with warm water and placed it over his eyes.

"Huh? That's strange!" A voice suddenly rang out from behind, startling both Sasuke and Wu Yu. They turned to see Naruto standing there.

Naruto Uzumaki held a photo frame, staring intently at the Uchiha Crest pattern on the back of Sasuke's shirt.

He pointed to the identical crest on the shirt worn by the goggle-clad boy in the photograph—though it was embroidered in a different spot and was much smaller—and asked in surprise, "Is this friend of Kakashi-sensei's a relative of Sasuke's?"

The photo frame in Naruto's hands contained a picture of Team Minato in their youth: Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, and their leader, Minato Namikaze.

"Idiot, don't just touch the teacher's private belongings!" Sakura Haruno gave Naruto a punch, then couldn't help but lean in to look at the photo herself.

Sasuke Uchiha merely glanced at the young Obito in the photo, showing no interest.

Wu Yu took a look at Kakashi, who was still playing dead with a towel over his eyes, then pointed to the spiky-haired, yellow-haired jonin in the photo and said to Naruto, "Huh? That's strange. Am I the only one who thinks this guy looks—especially his hairstyle—a lot like Naruto?"

"Is that so?" Naruto scratched his head, squinting to observe Minato Namikaze in the photo.

"Now that you mention it..."

Sakura observed carefully, and even Sasuke couldn't help but take a few extra looks. Then, he said with a start, "Is this the Fourth Hokage? Kakashi, was he your team leader back then?"

"The Fourth Hokage?!" Sakura and Naruto were both shocked.

"..." Kakashi could no longer remain silent. He removed the towel, which was losing its warmth, opened his right eye, and stared at the ceiling. "Yes. But back then, he wasn't the Hokage yet. He was just our sensei, Minato."

The atmosphere fell into a sudden, eerie silence... though perhaps that was just Wu Yu's imagination.

Although Sakura and Sasuke were surprised by this information, they didn't have much curiosity about the Fourth Hokage. Furthermore, since the Fourth was a hero who had sacrificed himself for the village, they didn't press for further details.

Naruto, filled with shock and reverence, silently placed the photo back in its original position. The Fourth Hokage, the man he had vowed to surpass, felt so "within reach" at this moment that he felt as if he were about to ignite with passion.

Kakashi, on the other hand, felt a bit emo...

Wu Yu noticed that regarding the fact that "Naruto Uzumaki is the son of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze," Kakashi made no move to prevent them from discovering clues or "spilling the secret."

He just lay there, emo all by himself, like a scarecrow in a wheat field—soulless and listless.

Right now, he only needed to say one sentence to completely overturn Naruto's mental world.

But Wu Yu chose not to.

He wasn't some reckless fool who spoke without thinking. Tsunade knew about the Mysterious Clone because it was impossible to hide forever, so it was better to show sincerity. As for Sasuke, Wu Yu knew that, if nothing else, the kid wouldn't leak information—he was a cold, cool guy who didn't talk much anyway.

As a transmigrator, beyond anything else, knowing the characters' true natures inside and out was a huge advantage.

Although Wu Yu wouldn't proactively tell Sakura or Kakashi about the Mysterious Clone, he was mentally prepared for them to find out eventually.

Naruto's situation, however, was different from the clone. It concerned the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, so one had to be extremely cautious. Wu Yu had been in close contact with Naruto for so long, and he had never once thought about letting Mysterious Kaguya extract the Nine-Tails Chakra from him. On the contrary, he had repeatedly told her to stay calm, stay calm, and stay calm—and to wipe away her drool.

Given Naruto's personality, if he were told his father was the Fourth Hokage, he might just turn around and confront the Third Hokage directly. The thought alone made Wu Yu feel exhausted.

Wu Yu didn't know why the Third Hokage and his cohorts chose to hide Naruto's identity, nor was it his business, but this was certainly not something that should come out of the mouth of a lowly Genin like himself.

Therefore, sensing the subtle atmosphere in Kakashi's room, Wu Yu spread his hands and announced he was going to the restroom.

"Whoosh..."

Wu Yu entered the restroom and turned on every faucet he could find to create some noise.

Since there was nothing else to do, he decided to kill some time and formed the hand seals.

Right Mysterious Clone, activate!

With a soft "poof," a cloud of white smoke appeared before him. From the solid form coalescing within the smoke came a voice familiar to Wu Yu: "Huh? Isn't this my own bathroom?"

Eh?

Wu Yu froze, locking eyes with the Right Mysterious Kakashi that had emerged once the smoke cleared.

"Is it really that coincidental?" Wu Yu lowered his voice.

"It seems it really is that coincidental."

Right Mysterious Kakashi crouched on the toilet lid, reflexively pulling a copy of Icha Icha Paradise from his pouch. Noticing the main body's gaze, he casually tucked it back into the pouch and said calmly, "Sorry, this environment... cough, I'm used to it."

Practice makes perfect, is that it?

Wu Yu was speechless. Suddenly thinking of something, he pulled back Right Mysterious Kakashi's forehead protector to reveal his left eye—he was shocked. It was a pitch-black pupil, not a Sharingan!

"Huh?" Right Mysterious Kakashi also noticed the difference in himself.

Wu Yu muttered, "It seems the Mysterious Clone cannot replicate parts that don't belong to your 'original' self... and after removing the 'foreign object' that is the Sharingan, it automatically restores your left eye."

"My body hasn't felt this light in a long time." Right Mysterious Kakashi blinked his left eye.

"..."

Wu Yu glanced at the air beside him.

Since that is the case, why does Mysterious Kaguya possess a Rinnegan on her forehead? This thing should be the Ten-Tails Eye that only appears after she merges with the God Tree, right?

Could it be that because Kaguya's integration with the God Tree was too deep, the Mysterious Clone identified her as the same unit?

"Wu Yu, aren't you done yet?" Naruto shouted boisterously from outside the door. "Kakashi-sensei said he's going to treat us to a meal!"

"You just stay hidden here and transcribe every one of those thousand techniques you've supposedly copied for me; I'll check them tonight." Wu Yu lowered his voice to instruct Right Mysterious Kakashi.

He couldn't be bothered with the other's dead fish eyes; aren't clones meant to be squeezed for every bit of utility? Wu Yu turned off the faucet and gently pushed the door open to step out.

"He's already lying there unable to move, yet he's still treating people to dinner?" Wu Yu returned to Kakashi's bedroom, smiling as he blended into the group.